A group of crooks is gathered around a table in a makeshift HQ.
You are the crazy Sponsor who recruited them to rob the most secure bank in the country.
They introduce themselves in turn: each one has their specialty, each one has their own Accessory.

• Saboteur (explosives)
• Burglar (locksmith hooks)
• Assassin (silent pistol)
• Forger (3D printer)
• Employee (access badge)
• Hacker (laptop)

They all have a reason for being there, a story, a dream... but also, a hell of a Temper!
From the latter derives an Emotional Skill in which everyone excels, a potential Crisis if they lose control, and a Social bound endorsed by their neighbor on the left.

Temper	Skill	Crisis	Bound
Choleric	Violence	Strike without thinking	Rival
Cheerful	Charisma	Draws attention	Lover
Fearful	Discretion	Run away	Blackmailer
Vigilant	Observation	Hallucinating	Relative
Phlegmatic	Education	Faints	Debt holder
Sad	Bluff	Acts recklessly	Confident

The introductions being made, review one last time the perfect plan that you have developed together.
For each phase, recall the strategy that you intend to adopt as well as the main obstacle which may bother you.

• Phase I: Break into the bank
• Phase II: Access to the vault
• Phase III: Collect the loot
• Phase IV: Escape
• Phase V: Return to HQ

Before leaving, do not forget the large black sports bag that contains your micro-earphones and your guns. Each mobster adds one additional piece of equipment useful to the whole team.

Tonight, you will be rich! As long as you remain in control of your emotions...
Now try to Break in, and avoid the burn out!

Play

The mobsters will try to follow the plan, avoiding obstacles and complications.

Each Temperament starts at intensity 1. When it goes up a notch, it increases by 1, up to a maximum of 3. If the intensity should increase beyond that, their Crisis triggers instead, the Sponsor describes how the situation is getting worse.

When a player attempts an uncertain action, they roll 1d6:

• on 4-, attempt failed (or succeeds with complication), it goes up a notch and also the mobster with whom they have a Bound goes up a notch too (people tend to transfer their stress to the ones having a social bound with them);
• out of 5+, attempt successful and the player can choose to go down a notch if they want to.

If the attempted action is related to the Emotional Competence of the thug, they apply a bonus to the roll equal to the intensity of their Temper (between +1 and +3).

If they use the Accessory of their specialty, they succeed automatically without throwing a die but caught in their frenzy they go up a notch.

In need of adrenaline? Some complication ideas:

• Arrival of the cops
• Hostage rebellion
• Loss of a wad of banknotes
• Disappearance of an Accessory
• Injury of a character
• Activation of a security system

The wads of banknotes are materialized by tokens (10 per mobster). The crooks can divide them freely to transport them, each bundle being worth $100,000.

A year later, the Sponsor calls everyone.

• What is their life now?
• What about their dream?
• How has their Link evolved?

Break in, burn out is a creation of Elodie Martini and Pierre-Chanel Gauthier members of the French collective La Rôlisterie, created for the contest Once upon a time a little role-playing game 2022.

The contest rules was to write a role playing game under 500 words following the theme Emotions.

Count 1 to 2 hours game for 3 to 6 players.